Have a seat

I'm asking myself if it is the smartest thing to be crocheting like a maniac again. I really should slow down and have longer periods of rest, but I simply cannot stop! I'm having so much fun, making seat covers for my chairs. I showed you the first one, which is now all done, and I like it very much.

 

I found the pattern for this lovely square, Mary Ellen's Easy Daisy Granny Square, on Ravelry but the link goes directly to her blog. (If it looks a bit wonky, it's because I've been sitting on it...) I decided I wanted something for the back of the chair too, so I made simple granny stripes that I folded around and sewed on to the back of the chair. Please visit Attic 24 if you want to know how to make granny stripes, that's what I did.

 

Since most of the yarn is bulky (itchy) wool, it's both warming and a bit more comfy to sit on this chair now. And it looks so much prettier, if you ask me! :) Do I have to say I'm already working on a second one? But a different one it is. No flower this time. Surprised? I am! ;)

Yarn from the same box, the one with old, itchy left overs. Found this pattern on Ravelry too, and just had to try it at once! It's called Fireworks Surprise, and my biggest surprise is how wonky mine is becoming... I blame all the different yarn qualities I'm using, and I don't mind since I'm going to sit on it. It would get wonky anyway! Try this pattern if you haven't already, it's really fun!

Wooly creation

Summer time makes me want to crochet. Happy colors mostly, and flowers. But I don't usually crochet something in wool... You see, a while ago we started a new project at home. We got hold of a few drawers, the desk kind. So we decided to make some changes in our hobby room. Again. :) I didn't really feel like it to start with, a lot of work it seemed. But I'm glad I listened to my wise husband. It turned out great! The kids have their own "desks" now, with their own shelves on the wall. And I do too. And the best of all - I have three (!!!) chairs at my desk, separated by drawers. One for scrap booking and other crafty stuff, one for my sewing machine (I don't have to put it away anymore!) and finally one for other fabric and yarn related crafting. I'll show you pictures, I promise.

As you might imagine, this "new" room gave me some inspiration. I really wanted to sit down and make up new, wonderful plans. :) My hands aren't hurting that much anymore, and I've been so inspired by a crafty woman with a shop called GarnMalin. She has these lovely crocheted circles in wool on her chairs, instead of ordinary seat cushions. I wanted to make some for my chairs too. But I didn't end up with anything like her pretty circles, although I wanted to and planned to. I ended up with this.

I just couldn't help myself, once I saw this pretty flower. Love it! I'll link you to the pattern once I'm completely done. I made a few more rounds yesterday, but I have to fasten all ends and make strings to attach it to the chair. And maybe something for the back of the chair too? I'll have to see what I can do with what I have at hand, since I'm using up some old scrap yarns.

Inspiration works in strange ways, have you noticed that? I really wanted to work something up like Malin does, simple but with a wonderful mix of yarns and different fibers. But it seems like I just can't. Every time I try to, I end up with something completely different. Something in my style, not hers. Nothing wrong with that, but is it really that hard to get away from old habits and favorite techniques? Maybe I'll make another try. :)

Update

It is how it always is this time of the year - no inspiration at all when it comes to blogging. My computer time is at a minimum, and I can't say that I'm doing much of interest either. Well, yes, I've finished the pink shawl for my daughter, but that's about it. I work, read, sleep... And re-organize the house. Again... :) Improving the work space in our crafty room, which have created a massive mess in most parts of the house. Not finished yet, but now it's interrupted by some time away in our little caravan. My husband is working at two different conferences, and we all come along. It will probably be great fun, but a part of me would like to stay at home at do something about this mess and tend to the garden. But there will be lots of time for that too!

I guess I won't be in here much, I really need this to be something I do for fun, not something I have to do. I guess you are all out and about too, most of the time?

And no, there are no flowers on my apple-tree any longer, this picture was taken a while ago. I just happen to love it! :) See ya!

Girly-fying

My kids are really growing like weed right now, both of them. So the pile of outgrown clothes is growing steadily... Sometimes my girl take over something her brother used to have, but more often his clothes are too boyish for her. Or rather, not girly enough... Two pairs of short pants were obviously too dull for her taste, so I promised to make them a little more girly.

Bored as I was the other day, I thought I would try to make some embroidery. I wasn't sure that my hands would find it such a splendid idea, but they surprised me. It worked just fine, and today I fastened the last strand.

I chose to focus on the pockets, since the threads on the back could impossibly itch that way. 

Nothing more fancy than a few simple flowers on each pocket. I tend to overdo things, guess I don't know when to stop... So I tried hard to make it just enough.

I used some left over thread from old embroidery kits, you know, with fabric, pattern and pre-cut thread. I love the idea of using what I have at hand, and left overs are perfect!

I tried a new thing I saw in a book. You can see the red flowers below, kind of looking like tulips. The stitch used is blanket stitch (langettsöm). Instead of making a straight line, you make a quarter of a circle, I think I made 3-4 stitches. 

Well, it was fun making all these little flowers, and now the pants are accepted by my almost eight year old. So everybody's happy, and one less item to go shopping for! And one more pair to go... :)

Lilac

I've been picking lilacs today. To make cordial (saft). My arms are that tired again, after a period when I've felt strong and full of energy. So right now I have a break, between brushing the lemons and cesting them. Or what ever you call it... Using that knuckle buster on them! :)
It's always tough to go from "healthy" to aching and sooo tired, in just a few days. This cordial making is an attempt to cheer myself up. Hope it works!
By the way, if you still have lilacs you should really try my cordial, I wrote it down on the blog last year, think the post is called Shirt dress and lilacs. Bye then!

Beloved garden

How I love my garden! Not that it's perfect in any sense, not even close. It's full of weeds, the grass is high, and I would have to change a lot to make it the garden of my dreams. But I love the fact that I do have a garden. To sit in, to stroll around in, and actually to work in. It's good for my soul. I brought the camera, since I like how the world suddenly is filled with little wonders when I look for things to snap a picture of. Like these tulips. I don't think I would have noticed that peculiar shape if I hadn't taken this picture. Adorable! (Please ignore the nettle in the background, I do. I'll remove it from the flower bed another day. Maybe.)

And the apple blossoms, aren't they just beautiful?! 

I spent most of my time outdoors in the spicy part of my kitchen, you know, with the mint, the oregano, sage and lavender. They were waiting for me to re-arrange them a little bit and today I finally had it done. And then I added some seeds to the kitchen garden, and planted some flowers... And sat in the hammock with the kids, having cinnamon buns and muffins. Walking around with bare feet, that are now brown from stepping on some of the dandelions covering the lawn. What a lovely day!

Seaside pictures

 I promised you more pictures, and here they come. I have been working the last two days and didn't get the time to sit down by the computer until today. It's always exciting to download the pictures from camera and mobile, since I never really remember exactly what I pointed that lens at. :) I kind of rediscover them, and the memories they represent.

The first day by the sea was windy and rainy, but we just had to get down to the water anyway. It's a bit of a walk from the camp site to the beach, but it's quite a lovely walk. The trees are marked by the wind, and you almost get the feeling of being abroad, everything looks so different from what we're used to. Windy and rainy it was, and the waves came crashing in. Dramatic and beautiful! The kids wanted to try out there new water canons, and so they did. And despite the wellingtons, they got wet because of the waves surprising them. :)

Instead they started playing by a creek leading out into the sea, throwing sand in the wind and trying to make sea shells float as far as possible. There's always something to do by the water. I walked around and admired pretty sea shells and sand formations. Don't want to drown you in pictures though, so I picked out a few.

The next day was sunny and warm, and almost no wind at all. Definitely no rain, so we had saw a few smiles when people looked at our kids, looking like this. But there was a reason (beside the wet pants and socks from yesterday). 

Time to shoot around with the water canons! :)

While mummy played around with sea shells...

And followed the birds footsteps. I love how they disappear around the bend... Watching the kids playing by the water, walking around on the beach and on the sand dunes, talking with my darling husband. Love the mood the beach gets us all in. Pure happiness, I would call it!

This seemed to be a busy place for some reason... I love the different sizes on the footprints.

And here we have other markings in the sand. While we watched sea shells, driftwood and dunes, someone had made himself a country with cities and roads. And funny names for the cities too. I admire the creativity!

Someone else had turned into a sea monster, muddy and with scary teeth. :) This monster sometimes makes very funny noises when it's saying "s", it's quite tricky when you're missing your two front teeth!

We stayed for two more days, but no more walks to the beach this time. But we're going back again later this summer, and I'm pretty certain I'll bring the camera that time too... ;)

By the ocean

I guess I understood I would blog less often now when I have a job. But I don't want to give you the impression that I've given up blogging all together, so I thought I'd say hi...
Hi! I'm on vacation. :) Sort of... The kids are free from school four days, and my husband is working at a conference on a camp site/conference center. So we tagged along, with our little caravan. The weather has been very windy most of the time, a little rainy too. But yesterday we had sunshine and went down to the ocean. Love it there! And how the kids enjoy playing there, no matter what the weather is like. :) They play in the sand or shoot water canons, while husband and I stroll around and enjoy nature. Sea shells, bird footprints, wood washed by the sea...
Work again when we get home, but I'll try to have a moment by the computer to show you some more pictures. Got to go now, the kids want ice cream and I'm the one with the money... :)

Weekend outdoors

Look, look what I did! :) I actually sat down and made a few rows of crochet last night. It felt good, I have to say. First aching hands, and now when they feel a little better, I haven't really had the time or energy to sit down with any needlework at all. I fall asleep early every night, not used to all this "go to work"-business yet, and the weekends are stuffed with activity too. And that's really what I wanted to talk about today.

This is where I spent most of last weekend. We were hiking as we call it, although we don't walk that far into the little grove where we usually spend our Thursday evenings with a bunch of kids every spring and autumn. We are called Royal Rangers, and this is an activity for kids that our church has. So "our" nine kids and us grown-ups came here Saturday morning and left Sunday noon. (I have to admit that some of us spent the night in our own beds, but the others slept soundly in our shelter. 

Welcome to our kitchen! :) Everything is cooked over open fire. The yellow box/kitchen counter is our only cupboard, it contains a few drawers with beaters, spatulas, a few bowls and things like that.

One of our stoves. We build up a fire under the gratings, and cook on it. I think it's cool  that you can actually build a stove with wood, string and dirt. :)

But when we baked potatoes, we used a fire pit on the ground instead. Let the fire burn out, and put them on the bed of embers. 

Fire is most fascinating, don't you think? I love the late nights out there, when I sit by the fire as the kids are getting ready for bed. It's dark and pretty quiet, and I sit there under a wool blanket, staring into the flames and embers. They almost look alive!

I didn't show you the kids, since I'm not sure their parents would approve of that, but I can tell you we all had a great time. Building kites (that didn't fly), playing games, sending off flying paper lanterns, eating (everything you cook and eat outdoors tastes so much better than anything else) and laughing. But you're pretty tired once you get back home... :)

Date night, birthday, spring and mint!

I have so much to talk about this time, I really don't know where to start. OK, let's start with last Friday. My husband and I left the kids behind (but well taken care of, of course) and went to Jönköping, a city an hour and a half from here. We haven't been away like that for ages, just the two of us, so we really enjoyed it. We love going places together, since we love sitting in the car talking. About absolutely everything and anything. Quality time, I say! And with no kids interrupting from the back seat, the drive went really fast! The reason for the trip was a concert, Steven Curtis Chapman visiting Sweden for the first time ever, and also some Swedish artist that we both like. A wonderful night! And I even managed to stay awake the whole way home. :)

Next day, we went to Jönköping again, this time to visit my sister who recently turned a year older and wiser. :) Now you can never guess her age, right? ;) I just love spending time with my family, and especially with my nephews. They grow so fast! But I have to admit I kept falling asleep all the time on our way home. At ten o'clock, why is that?

Sunday was all about church and garden time. The kids were playing around in the beautiful weather and I was tidying up the garden after the winter, as always a little late... But at least it's done now. And we had a lovely barbecue in the evening, enjoying the sunshine. Lovely!

Yesterday was a busy day. First of all, I went to work. Yes, that's right. No more sitting at home every day. Some friends have a funeral home, and they need some extra help when it's busy. As always, the head was spinning after the first day. All new impressions and all new things to learn... But I hope it will all settle and turn out quite well.

In the evening (after a rest under a warm blanket), we went to celebrate the arrival of spring with a huge bonfire by the lake, the traditional songs and speeches and everything. (At least a Swedish tradition the last of April.)

Today, we were all at home. The kids were pretty tired after a late night (or several, actually) and chose to take it easy. Reading, playing around, sitting in a chair in the garden... The husband and I, on the other hand, have been working. Digging up plants, making a bigger flower bed, putting plants in the new flower bed, lawn mowing...

Well, my husband made all the hard work. Except digging up the mint that was escaping their due place and had to be taken care of. That was hard work, I tell you! Those roots... Aaargh! They could make anyone crazy!

Came bedtime for a tired girl, and I sit by the window. Watching the husband still working outside, watching my potted plants thriving from all attention I've been giving them. Growing, flowering...

Tomorrow is a new day, and I'm working a few hours. So it won't be a late night for me... I need my rest. Hopefully I'll be able to use my aching shoulders tomorrow... that mint! But I enjoyed it, at least most of it. Gardening is good for the soul. And best of all, I was strong enough in hands and arms to do it! Yay!!! :)

Just a little

The days go by, and I don't do much. I read a lot, watch tiny seedlings grow and things like that. Try to rest my tired arms. Not much to talk about, couldn't find a thing to blog about the other day, when I felt like writing something.

Went to see the doctor, but there was not much to be done about them at the moment. Might need surgery in the future, to ease the pressure on a nerve, thought to cause the problem.

On the happy side, I manage to do just a little needlework every now and than. I made these little guys for a friend who's celebrating the graduation of another friend. They are supposed to look like an asparagus (wearing a graduation hat size tiny) and a water-melon. Nicknames my friends call each other. :) Not a great picture though, sorry about that.

Hopefully I'll have more to write about after the weekend. We're planning to spend some time gardening, which I'm really looking forward to. Maybe I can do just a little crochet too, that would be fun. :)

Trying to keep my spirits up, looking for hidden treassures when the days seem gray. And I usually find some! :)

One of those days

I'm on the couch today. Dressed in pj's and a fleece sweater, under a fleece blanket and my bed cover. Watching Stargate on TV. But the screen is facing south, so I can see the reflection of my window and curtain better than the actors... :)

I'm tired today. My back and my arms tell me they don't want to do anything at all. So I don't. I've been doing so much fun lately anyway. Knitting, crocheting, gardening... It was pretty cold outside yesterday, but the daughter and I went out to put some baby onions in the soil. I love growing some of my own food. I love to watch it grow. The tomato and basil seeds in the kitchen window are coming up now, tiny green plants. Lovely!

I called the hospital today, talked to a nurse about my hands going numb when I sleep. She would talk to a doctor and call me back. Maybe they can do something to help. That would be nice.

My hands are getting cold from typing, think I'll tuck them in and watch Richard Dean Anderson save the planet. Or at least I hope he will. :) See ya!

It's a bolero!

 I am so, so very grateful! I've been able to knit and crochet a little again, and I love it! My arms do get tired and a little achy, so I will be careful not to do too much, but I can do it! :)

So yesterday I sat down with Elsa's bolero, since she's been asking about it. Every time I've lifted it up from the basket, she's been asking "is it done?" with great expectations in her voice... And now it is done. And she seems to like it, wouldn't you say? It's made in a very soft cotton, so I kind of understand her.

I think it's really pretty, with those leaves on the back. And yet so very simple to make.

 It could be done with any pattern on the back, of course. If I ever make another one, I'm thinking about hearts. But we'll see... I believe it's rather easy to find this leaf pattern, I have it in two of my books. I'm afraid I don't have a pattern for the whole bolero, since I found it in a Swedish magazine...

But the basic design is really simple. It's a huge rectangle with ribbing in both ends. Then you pick up some stitches for the arms on each side and knit some more ribbing. To be specific, this bolero is approximately 60 cm wide and 54 cm high (without stretching it), the ribbing up and down is 11 cm (k2, p2). The arms are 23 cm wide and 4 cm long. It's a little big for my girl of seven, but not much.

 When you've come this far, you only fold it double and stitch it together. Both my husband and my daughter asked, "where's the hole?"... :)

Here it is! Do you get the design? So simple to make, and yet it looks really good on.

 I'm so happy I made this. The yarn was bought on sale, and I used up almost five balls (50 g each), which was all I had... Perfect project, I have to say! Very, very pleased with it! :)

A little more crochet

I worked a little on the shawl last night. Probably too much if you ask my arms, but I felt I had to. I was sad and really needed to do something therapeutic with my hands. It's a roller coaster ride right now, both the mood and the pain is going up and down, back and forth. Mostly going for the better though. The challenge is to stay positive. And not do too much, but I'm not very good at that. I celebrate the good days by needle working, gardening and house keeping. And pain follows the next day. As I know it will. But it's worth it, it keeps me sane. Right now, I feel that I can manage this. Or at least endure it. So I embrace this moment. Nobody really knows what tomorrow will bring, so embrace your good moments too!

Much better

I'm quite happy today. I'm stiff and sore, but it's because I did something yesterday. And that kind of pain is a lot easier to bear! I felt a little better yesterday, so I did some sewing. It worked fine, so I ran to get some yarn and a hook...

...and got started on a little shawl in love knots! Yay! I probably should finish some of my projects instead, but my little girl had asked me so kindly if I could make her some more shawls. She has one in purple, but it doesn't go with all her outfits so she thought she needed some in different colors. And I am so happy to be able to work a little bit on this one.

But the thing that really made my day was probably this. My garden, how I love it! It always makes me feel so much better. Just walking around, checking what is new and what is growing. It gives me such a feeling of well-being. 

Soon, really soon, I'll be able to make some nettle soup. I love to, both since it's tasty and healthy, but mostly because my son loves it. And he doesn't like vegetables or anything green, so I'm thrilled that he actually is looking forward to this soup. :)

Ah, I love these little beauties! I wish they would spread out faster. I just love those old gardens that turn all blue in spring, with the lawn filled with them. Lovely!

This isn't that lovely, though. I guess that roe deer came back when I didn't see her and had a good meal. I'm not too upset, since this is actually the first time they've eaten my tulips since we moved here seven years ago. Just hope they don't get at taste for it now... 

Well, what can I say? A little needlework and a stroll in the garden really lifted my spirits. I'm happy. And that gives me strength to keep going a little longer, even though it still hurts a bit. Today is laundry day, but I also hope to be able to plant the pansies that are waiting on the porch. It's hard not to do too much, once I have a better day... But I'll try not to overdo it. :)